Under the Well
by Metroid Life
Summary: Once there was a man who could see the truth of everything... now only a well shows where he had lived. Now Link, the Hero of Time, goes into this dark place in search of the man's power.


Link landed in the third floor of the dungeon, not with a scream, but with a sigh. This was at least the twentieth time he'd fallen down here, and still he was no closer to success. He had come to this dungeon seeking something to help him find the truth.

An old man in Kakariko Village had said the well had been built over the home of a man who could see through all lies and illusions. If there was anything here that could impart that power on Link, he had to have it. He had apparently been chosen by destiny to stop Ganondorf and save Hyrule, and along the way he was certain to meet threats that he couldn't just hack to pieces, subtle webs of lies and magic that he would need to see through.

There was another reason he wanted that power, though he didn't say it even to himself- Why him? Why was he, of all the people of Hyrule, chosen to travel through time, wield the Master Sword, and stop Ganondorf? So in seach of the answers, he had climbed down into this well, and had regretted it instantly. After killing a Skulltula, Link had been briefly baffled by what seemed to be a blank wall. He was about to leave the well entirely when Navi noted that spirits of the dead dwelled here, and that were saying: _"Find the eye of truth."_ So there _had_ to be something down here, even if Link didn't see it. He quickly realized after that that the wall was fake, as were many others in here, and, as he was coming to loathe, so were some parts of the floor.

Thus he had been trying, for what seemed like hours, to cross a room with a Beamos and several annoying Fire Keese. Every time he fell into one of the invisible holes in the floor, he would have to fight past a Redead, never a painless task, and work his way back to the Beamos room, at which point he would have to slay its occupants yet again. But this time he had a plan. After removing the room's monsters, he pulled out his slingshot. He had a fairly good idea of where the holes in the floor where, but he wouldn't take any chances. First he made his way to the corner of the room, where a pot sat, thus proving it was solid floor. From there he made his way diagonally across the room, firing the slingshot at the floor every so often to make sure it wasn't a hole. After making his way to the next room, he finally saw what he had been striving to reach. A small cell with a Like Like, and judging from the scraping sound, a Gold Skulltula. Not what he was hoping for, but still important. He quickly killed the Skulltula, and sliced the Like Like, making the slime monster recoil in pain, but it quickly advanced, swallowing Link whole. For a brief second Link was in total darkness, unaware of anything, then he went flying into the air and smashed into the floor. The creature writhed its way closer to him, and he realized his shield was gone. His very expensive, fire-proof, Hylian Sheild. With a shout that rang throughout the dungeon, Link stabbed the Like Like, cutting cut through it. The monster spasmed briefly, trying to break free, but it quickly melted into a puddle, revealing Link's shield. He strapped it back onto his back and moved on.

After a quick trip through what remained of the dungeon, Link's compass told him that there was only one piece of treasure left, somewhere on the first floor, but he couldn't find it. He had uncovered every hidden room in this waterlogged place, but still there was that last treasure, maybe the item that would show him the truth, maybe not, but in either case it hung tantalizingly out of reach. Exhausted, he took a short break in front of the statue pouring out water.

Staring at it, a thought occurred to him- maybe the water was stopping him from finding the treasure. After all, there was a pit right at the first of the dungeon. He looked down and noticed, for the first time, that he was standing on a Triforce symbol. Groaning at his own stupidity, he smacked his head into the nearest wall. Or at least he tried to; the fake wall gave way and he hit the floor head-first, getting a taste of the foul water. Spitting this out, he got out his Ocarina and began to play Zelda's Lullaby. The music worked its magic immediately; the statue stopped pouring, and the water drained away.

The treasure was almost his, Link could feel it. All weariness had drained with the water, leaving behind a straight path to follow and uncontainable excitement. Running through a slightly imposing door, Link found himself in a earthen chamber, and he was hit by a sudden sense of foreboding. The air smelled awful, much like a Redead; he had been around enough to recognize that foul miasma. There was something horrible here, he could feel it, a dark force far worse than a mere Redead. Bracing himself, he entered the room proper.

He could see some white pillars nearby, and he walked closer, only to find that they were something more horrible than he could imagine- a long, inhumanly long white hand, stretching out of the ground, grasping at thin air. He steered clear of it, naturally, but after a quick glance around the room it was obvious nothing else was here. He briefly wondered if the compass was broken before realizing he probably needed to destroy the hands first. Drawing his sword, he charged at the nearest one, but before he could attack, the hand reached down and grabbed him, holding him in place. The room started to rumble, and a horrid white _thing_, a pale and bloody humanoid monstrosity came forth. It lurched forward, its stubs of arms trailing uselessly, its enormous head clearly ready to bite into Link's own. Just before it could bite down, Link managed to break free and started slicing at the monster. Blood dripped from it, and it quickly slithered away before Link could do any real damage. The room grew quiet, and Link knew it wouldn't come back up unless the hands caught him again. All the tension left Link's body.

Now that he knew how it would act, he could defeat it. He threw his shield close to one of the arms, and it promptly grabbed it, followed by the Dead Hand raising again. As it inched its way closer to the shield, Link ran forward, and slashed clean through it. The hands went limp and sank into the dirt as the monster's head fell from its neck. Similar to the Like Like, it seemed to deflate and fade into the ground. The evil aura around the room had vanished completely, and a treasure chest appeared in a flash of gold. Grinning, Link eagerly opened it, and pulled out a strange purple magnifying glass. Looking through it didn't make things look bigger, but added a reddish tint. For a brief second Link felt cheated, but then he saw a second treasure chest, hidden from his compass and from all mortal eyes. But not from the Lens of Truth.


End file.
